The Miami Herald March 6, 2003
More than 1,000 troops in Florida called up
BY Phil Long; plong@herald.com
For the second day in a row, the Pentagon on Wednesday reached deep into Florida for military personnel, calling up 114 Navy medical reservists and 900 Florida National Guard soldiers, including 600 men who operate advanced missile systems that protect sites from air attacks.
On Tuesday, the Department of Defense activated 1,080 Army reservists from Florida.
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
Wednesday's action brings to almost 7,200 the number of Florida people who have been called to duty from all branches of the reserves and National Guard since mid-December, when the Pentagon began building up for a possible war against Iraq
The ''Avenger Units'' notified Wednesday are from north-central Florida -- Daytona Beach, Deland and Palatka. They fire surface-to-air Stinger anti-aircraft missiles with a range of about five miles. Racks of the missiles are mounted on a Humvee.
PROTECT SOLDIERS
The units are increasingly used to protect battlefield soldiers and equipment as well as bases and buildings.
''They could be used in protecting against Iraqi helicopters or low-flying Iraqi drones,'' said Tim Brown, senior analyst with GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington-based think tank on military issues. 'The question is, are they going to get there in time for action or are they a 'follow on' for later?''
Other soldiers called up on Wednesday include 200 from a semi-tractor trailer unit from Mariana that hauls supplies and 100 from a unit at Camp Blanding that specializes in open-field warehousing of equipment, said Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, spokesman for the Florida National Guard.
The truckers of the 144th Transportation Battalion at Mariana, as well as the warehouse specialists from the 297th Corps Support Battalion from Camp Blanding, can be sent overseas without additional training, Tittle said.
The First Battalion of the 265th Air Defense Artillery will go to Fort Stewart, Ga., for further training in chemical and biological warfare and other areas.
FEW FROM AREA
The number of South Florida soldiers assigned to the avenger units was not immediately available Wednesday, but was believed to be small. Only seven of the Navy medical personnel are from the Miami area.
Although some may be sent overseas, nearly all of the Navy reservists from the Fourth Field Service Support Group will be assigned to the naval hospitals at Jacksonville or Pensacola as replacements for people on active duty who have been assigned overseas.
BAGS PACKED
''Most of us have had our bags packed and standing by for the call,'' said Navy Chief Petty Officer Rafael A. Rodriguez, 37, a technician in Miami-Dade County's Department of Environmental Resources.
Corpsmen, the Navy's version of Army medics, are assigned mostly to Marine combat units.
Like everyone else, Rodriguez does not know where his assignment will take him. ''It could be anything from being in headquarters to being in the front line in the middle of everything,'' Rodriguez said. Where the Marines go, the corpsmen go, he said.
Copyright © 2003, The Miami Herald
